HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Today is my mom's birthday.  Actually, it's tomorrow for you guys, but it's today for me.  November 7th.  I'm not going to tell you how old she is, because well, I don't want her to disown me!

Anyway, let me tell you about my mom.  For those of you that know her, this will come as no surprise.  For those of you that don't, you don't know what you're missing.  My mom has ALWAYS been there for me.  She's always let me know that she will love me no matter what I do.  And while I was a pretty good kid, I was a REALLY annoying toddler!  She could tell you stories for hours about the things that I did back then.  Of course, my boys *love* hearing those stories!  There was the time I climbed out of bed and climbed in bed with Scott with a gallon of chocolate ice cream, which was in turn smeared on the walls the next morning.  Then there was the time I climbed up on top of the roof.  That's right, I said the ROOF.  We used to have these black wrought iron posts on our front porch, and I climbed up them to get on the roof.  And then there was the time I woke up in the middle of the night and went down to the end of the driveway to meet the bus that wasn't actually due for another 2 or 3 hours.  And of course, there was the time I drove the car down the driveway and into the neighbors yard.  Mind you, all of these incidents happened before the age of about 4.  Do you wonder how I made it to adulthood?!

Of course, because of this lovely background, whenever I call my mom to tell her about the crazy things my kids have done, all I hear is, "Yeah, I had one just like that!"  Thanks for the sympathy Mom!!!  You could at least *pretend* to sympathize!  ;-)

Anyway, back to her.  She has always been there for me.  And she's always made me feel like I was a wonderful person.  She never made me feel like she ever questioned how she got stuck with me for a daughter.  Now mind you, there were times when I was a teenager, when I'm sure she wanted to sell me to the lowest bidder, but somehow, she managed to bury those thoughts deep in her sub conscience!

I remember planning my wedding.  We had so much fun picking things out and doing things together.  I'd always ask for her opinion, and she'd always tell me it was MY wedding and that I should do what *I* wanted, without wondering what anyone else thought about it.  And when I got pregnant with Jason, I don't think anyone was more excited than her.  Except for Ryan and I, of course!  And she LOVES her grandchildren.  Her eyes light up whenever she sees them.  She thinks about them and talks about them all of the time.  They are SO lucky to have her.  There are times when she'll call me and ask if Ryan and I want to go out.  Mind you, she's concerned about us spending time together, but it's also because she wants to see her grand kids!

And I've never met anyone with more Faith than my mom.  She has a very strong Faith in God, but she also has a lot of Faith in people.  She always tries to see the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt.  She *really* cares about how people are doing and what their needs are.  She's very compassionate.

I have the best mom in the world.  If my kids grow up and feel half of what I feel for my mom, then I will know that I have done my job as a parent.

I love you Mom.  Thank you for showing me how to be a great mom.  I hope you have a really great birthday.  I'm sorry I can't be there to share it with you.

You're loving daughter. 

Me